Blair Mountain Rebel
The events leading up to the Battle of Blair Mountain of 1921 started in the late 19th and early 20th century with the violent tactics used by mine owners to halt unionization of mine workers. A few weeks before the battle, in May 1920, a gunfight erupted between Sid Hatfield, the town sheriff of Matewan, WV, along with several deputies and several Baldwin-Felts private detectives involved in violent strikebreaking, including Albert and Lee Felts. A year later, Sid Hatfield was himself assassinated, an act that enraged the local miners. 10,000-15,000 miners took up arms and seized control of the area around Blair Mountain, WV, engaging a week-long battle with police, and eventually U.S Army forces with air support. Over 900 miners were arrested, though only some were convicted. In the end, however, they were paroled in 1925, however, government recognition of labor unions was set back until the 1930s, in part due to the events of Blair Mountain. Battle vs Filipino Insurrectionist (by SPARTAN 119) Blair Mountain Miner: Filipino Insurrectionist: Five Filipino Insurrectionist walk into a mountain valley. On the slopes above them, they spot a miner revolting against the mine owners in the Blair Mountain area. The Filipino leader sees that he is a white man and assumes he is an enemy. He raises his Mauser 1893 and fires a shot. The Blair Mountain Rebel crumples to the ground, dead from a gunshot to the head. A Blair Mountain Rebel returns fire with his Springfield M1903, killing a Filipino Insurrectionist. . The Filipinos moved from cover to cover, firing back at the Blair Mountain rebels, who fired back at them. In the storm of bullets, a Filipino and miner were struck down by rifle fire. Moving it close now, an insurrectionist got out his Colt M1892 and fired three shots into a Blair Mountain miner's torso, killing him. Suddenly, the fallen miner was avenged, however, as half his head exploded, struck by a blast from another miner's sawed off shotgun. A Filipino Insurrectionist cut the shot-gunner's throat from behind with his bolo. . The boloman then slashed at another Blair Mountain Rebel, only to have the blade blocked by the handle of a mining pick the rebel was using as an improvised weapon. The rebel embedded the pickaxe in the Filipino's skull , only to be impaled second later on a sibat. The last surviving Blair Mountain rebel raised his shotgun and pulled the trigger, but found he was out of ammunition. The miner instead threw the empty gun at the Filipino as he charged with his sibat. The empty gun hit the insurrectionist in the face, causing him to drop his weapon. The Filipino reached for his bolo, but it was too late. The Blair Mountain miner thrust his Bowie knife into the Filipino's chest three times, killing him. The Blair Mountain Rebel leader withdrew his knife, as more Blair Mountain rebels showed up, investigating the sounds of battle. "You see that?", the rebel leader asked, "We work 10 ours down in the mines, and when we ask for a fair deal, what do the mine owners send us in return? First bombs and now some kind of foreign mercenaries!". WINNER: Blair Mountain Rebel Expert's Opinion The Blair Mountain Rebels won this battle because of their superior firepower at both close range with the shotgun and at long range with the Springfield Rifle. In addition, some of the Blair Mountain Rebels would have been World War I, giving them much needed combat experience. For the original battle, weapons, and votes, click here. Battle vs. Homesteaders (by Elgb333) There was a fine and peaceful weather in the forested hills of the American countryside. Five hardluck Western Virginian miners were camping in one of the hills, cleaning their rifles and fixing their tents. Its been months since these grit-covered rebels have seen civilization, for they've been fighting this guerrilla war against those corporate bastards for a very long time. They were all feeling hungry both physically and mentally, craving food that they should be enjoying with their families, as well as morale and the will to go on. The only thing that's pushing these poor miners forward now is the faith that they are fighting a good cause for the future and betterment of their families. And now was just another day for the life of these lonesome but noble hillbillies in America. But then, they started hearing sounds of thundering hooves and tired animal grunts. Sensing an incursion, the miners then armed themselves and went out to the bottom of the hill to see what's the commotion about. They hid in the trees near one side of the main road and waited. A small group of five Wyoming cowboys, with brands that stated that they were from Johnson County, was passing along the main road together with their small herd of sturdy and lean longhorns. Singing their jaunty Western shanties, they didn't notice the miners hidden in the trees as they ride through the road. The booties these Wyoming cowboys have and the meat that they were dragging along tempted the hungry miners. Those walking beef steaks can feed them all for a month, maybe even two. Taking the opportunity, the miners sprang from their hiding spots and aimed their guns at them. The startled cowboys then went for their holsters, but before they can draw and violence can ensue, one of the cowboys raised his hand and pleaded with the bandits. "Easy there friends! There's no need for fightin'. We were just passin' along that's all!" he yelled. "Who're you folks? And what ya'll doin' here, may we ask?" one of the miners asked. "Us? We just a bunch of herders escortin' these cattles to the city. We don't mean no harm, and I hope we didn't violated anythin' or anyones around 'ere." "No, but ya'll are a bunch of dumbasses for bein' here. Don't ya'll know the state is under a war? " The cowboys all looked at each other in shock, knowing that they are in one very big dilemma that's gonna screw them up. But as they were going to converse what they're gonna do, a miner opened a parley again for them. "Listen up! We'll let you go through... but as payment and gratitude, and also to show your support for our cause and our bee-loved state, you're gonna offer some of them cows, and all yer guns, to us." The parley had a different effect on the cowboys than what the miners thought. Their looks of fear and anxiety now turned into anger and defiance. "I'm afraid we can't do that, friend..." one of the pissed off cowboys said. "These ere's our livelihood. And we ain't gonna give em to you just like that..." "So there's no deal then..." a miner interrupted. "We jist gonna kill y'all instead!" And after that he fired both barrels of his large shotgun that cut one of the cowboys in half; the top-half of his body dangled from his spine while the other half still seated on his now jumping horse. Both sides now went for their guns, but unfortunately, the miners who have already unsheathed their weapons, fired the first volley. With the miners already surrounding one side, and the panicking cows scattering around the road, the cowboys can't ride off and escape, having no choice but to dismount and take cover from the opposite side of the road using the cows as cover. As the miners exposed themselves in the open to get a clearer shot, one of the retreating cowboys opened fire with his .44 revolver, hitting one miner multiple times in the chest. Firing continued as both sides were now locked on each side of the road. The longer range rifles of the miners gave them the advantage though, as one miner manage to headshot a cowboy with his bolt-action rifle. "Dammit we gettin' killed out here!" said one of the cowboys. "Someone gotta sneak through this hill and kill those sons of bitches from behind." "Gimme a minute," said one of the cowboys as he dashed through the trees, looking for any concealed way to get to the miners side unnoticed. The remaining cowboys continued firing from their side, one cowboy manage to load up his Sharps rifle and snipes a miner right in the face. "Goddammit!" a miner cursed. "I've had enough of this. All of you get up, we're gonna storm these bastards." And with a loud cry, the remaining miners charged at the cowboys position with all their might and with guns blazing. The cowboys, shocked from such audacity, prepared to hold their ground at all cost. The rapid-firing capabilities of their Winchester rifle manage to kill one of the charging miners after it hit him in lung, and it wounded some of the others, but the wave of miners felt unstoppable and soon they reached the cowboys' position. The cowboys tried to fend them off with the butt of their rifles, but one of the miner shot a cowboy multiple times point blank with his M1917 revolver. The remaining cowboy started to back away but still kept on firing. As the miners methodically approached him like a cornered animal, ready to finally put an end to him, shots suddenly rang out from behind. One of the remaining miners fell dead as his back was pumped with lead from a revolver fired by a cowboy, who suddenly appeared from behind. Now only one miner remained, and he's got cowboys right in front of him and in his back. "Give it up," the cowboy from behind said. "It's all over. Go home soldier." "Is it now?" the miner said, before firing the last bullet from his Vertelli rifle from the hip at point blank, killing the cowboy in front of him. "It ain't over as long as I'm still breathin'." "Nooooo!" the enraged cowboy said before tackling the miner to the floor. As the two wrestled on the ground, the miner managed to grab a hold of a pickaxe lying around, and jabs its metal head on the cowboy's jaw, breaking off some teeth. The cowboy fell down, almost losing consciousness, as the miner stood up with his pickaxe. "We were fightin' hard to build a union. All of us. We wanted this country to see how cruel we poor mining folks have been treated and we want the debts of those coal barons be paid. But our fight doesn't end here even as my brothahs lay dead. As long as the fire of injusticed men everywhere still fumes, we will continue this war, but first, I'm gonna finish this fight." the miner spoke as he readies to raise his pickaxe. The downed cowboy, though missing some teeth, started laughing. Confused and inflamed, the miner asked, "What the hell are you laughin' about?" "You stupid dumb hill people..." mocked the laughing cowboy. "You're fightin' for whut? Goddamn coal? What in coal that makes you people die for it? You can't eat it. You can't feed it to your families. All you rednecks are dumb sons of bitches!" The cowboy then sat up and spat a tooth from his mouth, before continuing, "You don't know us, boy. We're from Wyoming, we've seen how our lands and our livelihood were stolen from us. And we did everything we can to get 'em back. And there's no way in hell, that you stupid hillbillies are gonna take that away from us too!" "SHUT UP!" the coal miner yelled before plunging his pickaxe down towards the cowboy. But the cowboy managed to roll out of the way, grabs his bowie knife, and slices the coal miner in the stomach. Yelling in pain, the coal miner tried to swing back at the cowboy, but every swing he made were dodged by the buckaroo. The cowboy then retaliated by throwing his bowie knife, hitting the miner in the eye. The tired cowboy then knelt down and rested. He took his time to remember all his dead friends, try to cope with the violence he just witnessed, and muster whatever energy he has left. He then picks himself up, silently giving a final glance to the people that died today, and slowly walked to the road to look for his cows. Expert's Opinion The Johnson County Residents won because experts believed that they had the better weapons besides the rifles. The Blair Mountain Rebels were tough but the Wyoming settlers were smarter and more successful. To see the original battle, weapons, and votes, click here. Battle vs. Black Eagle (by SPARTAN 119) Blair Mountain Rebels: Black Eagle Rebels: Five Black Eagle rebels walked through a mountain forest, wondering where they were and how they got there. Up ahead, they saw a group of men standing around a caches of guns and ammuntion. The Black Eagle rebels approached cautiously and called out to the groups. One of the Blair Mountain rebels turned the intruders and, deciding they were a threat, lowered his rifle at them, before yelling, "Y'all get away from here, you hear me!". A Black Eagle Rebel armed with a Mosin-Nagant took aim at the man who aimed his rifle and, seeing it as threat, fired. The bullet struck the Blair Mountain Rebel in his chest, causing him to crumple to the ground, dead. The Blair Mountain rebels all grabbed guns from the stockpile and opened fire. One of the miners, who carried an army surplus Springfield M1903 shot the Black Eagle who started the fight in the head. The Russian rebel collapsed immediately. The two groups shot at each other, bullets whizzing over their heads, striking trees and rock, and kicking up the dirt around them. One of the Black Eagle Rebels, who did not have a gun, only a pitchfork, went unnoticed in the chaos of the firefight as he crept up the slope, behind the Blair Mountain rebels, before lunging out from behind a large boulder and catching a Blair Mountain Rebel in the back, all three prongs of the pitchfork punching straight through and poking out his chest. The Black Eagle Rebel with the pitchfork let go of the farm implement and grabbed the rifle, which the mortally wounded Blair Mountain rebel dropped at his feet. Before he could get off a shot, however, a Blair Mountain rebel spotted him and shot him with his sidearm, an old Smith and Wesson No. 3 revolver. The Black Eagle rebel was hit by two bullets to the chest and collapsed to the ground. The distraction of the flank attack was what the Black Eagle Rebels needed. A Blair Mountain Rebel who turned to look at the commotion was hit by a 7.62mm Russian rifle round in the side of the head and fell immediately. Soon after, a second Blair Mountain rebel was struck by three bullets from Nagant revolver. The last Blair Mountain rebel fired his Springfield, hitting one of the oncoming Black Eagle rebels with a well-placed shot to the center mass, dropping him immediately. Unfortunately for the last miner, he was hit by fire from the both of the surviving Black Eagle rebels, his chest pierced by two revolver round and rifle bullet. The surviving Black Eagle rebels walked over to the hole in the ground the Blair rebels had been guarding. Inside were dozens of guns, including various models of rifles, pistols, and shotguns, as well as ammunition and even a few sticks of dynamite. This would be most valuable in the fight for their cause. Now they just needed to figure out where they were and how to get it back to their comrades. WINNER: Black Eagle Rebel Expert's Opinion The experts believed the Black Eagle Rebels would win this battle in spite of their inferior logistics and skill with firearms because of their sheer tenacity and brutality. Armed mostly with improvised weapons, they nonetheless took control of parts of multiple Soviet governorates and even killed 800 Soviet soldiers who were armed with rifles, machine guns, and artillery. The Blair Mountain rebels put up a valiant fight, but never challenged forces of this magnitude. To see the original battle, weapons, and votes, click here. Category:Warriors Category:Real Warriors Category:Historical Warriors Category:Rebels Category:Criminal Warriors Category:Guerilla Warriors Category:US Warriors Category:North American Warriors Category:Human Warriors Category:Modern Warriors Category:Terrorist Warriors Category:Group Warriors